Pitches by John Cawley
Perfect Pitch
A collection of animation pitches made by John Cawley through three decades in the business.
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Introduction...
It is now common for artists from comics or animation to gather their personal artwork into a collection, labeling it a “sketchbook”. Each is filled with rough ideas from projects they worked on to final art for their personal projects not yet seen. Many have set up websites. These sites have allowed the general public a chance to get a look at materials usually not seen outside of the business.

I thought folks might be similarly interested in written ideas for cartoon shows and features that have never been made public. Just as an artist will create and submit varied visual ideas for a project, writers will work and re-work ideas for years. And just as with every sketch, every written idea has a story behind it - Where the ideas came from, what executives thought of them, and what eventually befell them.

Here is the beginning of a collection of ideas I have pitched in my 30-plus years in the animation business. Some are original ideas. Some are based on existing properties. The executive responses to these ideas range from immediate dismissal, to slight interest, to strong interest, to requests for more materials, and (in one case) almost full production.

These pitches were written in various eras and for various studio needs. Some are still really good ideas, and could still be developed into strong series or features. Others are only acceptable. There are even some that are lame and quite embarrassing! However, in an effort to show the breadth of my creativity, I am revealing all for public scrutiny.

text and format © John Cawley
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  The Pitches...
Alien Tales: A Fantastic Anthology Series of Incredible Science Fiction Tales - TV Series pitch to Warner Brothers, FOX and Disney Channel in 1997.

Aliens: A sequel to the 2nd film offers a world where the Aliens are on Earth - Series pitch for Fox 1988.

All Singing, All Dancing, All Mickey: Mickey and the gang are going to produce a movie - Feature pitch for Disney 1989.

Another Day: A bored brother and sister break a wishbone and wish that tomorrow would be “different”. It is! - TV Series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2003.

Astro's Disco Doghouse: A compilation series based on the huge library of animated music - Animated series pitch for Cartoon Network 2001.

Beauty & The Beast - Feature film pitch to Disney in 1986.

BIG: Based on the Tom Hanks feature - TV Series pitch to Fox TV in 1989.

Butch: A family discovers an amazing dog - Animated feature pitch to Disney in 1998.

Cartoon College: Cartoon characters go to college - TV Series pitch to Nickelodeon 2000.

Cartoon Casserole: What’s Cookin’ at Cartoon Network? Tune into… Cartoon Casserole - TV Series pitch to Adult Swim/Cartoon Network in 2003.

Cartoon Confidential: Hidden scandals from animation's history - Animated special pitch to Cartoon Network in 2003.

Cartoon Superstars: Biographies of animated characters - Animated special and series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2003.

Cartooniversity - Game show pitch to Warner Brothers, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network from 1996.

Comet Cat - Feature film pitch to Disney in 1988 based on the famous book.

Coyote: The Native American legend - Animated feature pitch to Disney in 1984.

Creeps: The Universal Monsters and their kids with live action - TV Series pitch to Universal Studios from 1989.

Critter Kids: The lost boys of Peter Pan in their own adventures - Animated series pitch for Cartoon Network 2004.

Crusader Rabbit: An attempt to revive the classic animated series - Animated series pitch for Cartoon Network 2004.

Dane Ranch: The Wild and Woofy West - TV Series pitch to Warner Brothers, FOX and Disney Channel in 1997.

Disney Video Sequels: A selection of pitches for direct to video sequels based on LION KING, OLIVER AND COMPANY, PETER PAN and ROBIN HOOD - Animated feature pitches to Disney TV 1996.

Do The Wright Thing: A boy has a dog for a conscience - TV Series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2004.

Doctor Dolittle: Based on the series of books - TV Series pitch to the property owners in 1989.

Dog & Pony Show: Kid's mom is into dog shows, and dad is a professional mascot - TV Short/Series pitch to Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network from 2000.

Earth Boy:A regular boy can't convince folks he is not a superhero - TV Series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2003.

Eddie Murphy: A series featuring Eddie Murphy in animated form - TV Series pitch to Hanna-Barbera from 1987.

Fats & Nikoma: An oriental master comes to live with a whinney cat - Animated series pitch to Nickelodeon in 1997.

Fetch!: A Great Dane team can find anything - Animated series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2003.

The Fox and the Grapes: An expanded version of the Aesop fable has the fox hiring a pair of wolves to locate the grapes - Animated feature pitch to Disney in 1989.

Future Pet: aka Planet of the Humans - TV Series pitch to Nickelodeon in 2000 and later to Disney and Cartoon Network.

The Guardian Angel Team: Three new angels must work backward in time to prevent mistakes - TV Series pitch to Nickelodeon from 2000.

Highway Petrol: A Great Dane, coyote and Manx cat ride the highways on their motorcycle hoping to help others - Short and series pitch to Cartoon Network from 2001.

Hot Play: TV series covering all the newest fun from animation to vidgames to movies and more - Series pitch to Nickelodeon from 1997.

Howlie-Woof Inc.: Animal bit players aim for the big time - TV Series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2003.

In The Doghouse: Animated serie about a boy who discovers an entire canine world exists below his pet's doghouse - Series pitch to Cartoon Network from 2003.

Internet Pets: Critters use the web to help people and solve crimes without anyone knowing they are animals - Series pitch to Cartoon Network from 2003.

Kennel of the Super Pets: Where animated heroes and villains keep their pets when on adventures - Animated series pitch for Adult Swim 2004.

Kitsune: A fox turns into a human - Animated series pitch to Disney, Nickelodeon and WB in 1992 & 1993.

Madonna: A pair of ideas featuring the queen of pop - Primetime special pitch from 1988.

Mecha Mentals: A Secret Society That Creates Robots with Their Minds - Animated series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2004.

Mighty Mascots: Four School Mascots Transform Into A Super Powered Team - TV Series pitch to Cartoon Network from 2003.

The Mouse on the Moon - Feature film pitch to Disney in 1988 based on the famous book.

Musical Mischief: When Disney decided to take classic musicals and re-do them in animation with new music - Animated feature pitches for Disney features 1988.

My Invisible Friend: A kid's best friend is an invisible entity - Series pitch to Cartoon Network from 2003.

Not Half Bad: A re-hab house for animated villains - Animated series pitch for Adult Swim 2004.

Oprah Winfrey: Series featuring Oprah as a travelling reporter - Series pitch to Hanna-Barbera from 1987.

The Outsiders: When an emergency strikes, a group of zoo animals decide they must venture into the city to save the day - Feature pitch to Disney from 1989.

Pet Peeves: The pets of famed animated characters spend their days at a day care - Animated series pitch for Adult Swim 2004.

Polar Pals: A Mystical Musher and Dishin’ Dog - TV Series pitch to Cartoon Network in 2004.

Rescuers II - Feature film pitches to Disney in 1986 for their proposed sequel to 1976's THE RESCUERS.

The Return of Brer Rabbit: Brer Fox falls for a lovely lady and asks Brer Rabbit for help in wooing her - Animated feature proposal to Disney from 1987.

Return of Zorro: A skunk impersonates a bold fox in an attempt to save his homeland - Feature pitch for Disney 1989.

Saturday Night Animated: An all animated late night special - Late night special pitch to Lorne Michaels 1988.

The Sea Dogs: Swashbuckling Tails - TV Series pitch to Fox TV in 1989.

Space Ghost in Ghost Planet A-Go-Go: Space Ghost’s world is turned upside down when Zorak takes the SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST studio hostage - Animated feature pitche for Cartoon Network 2001.

Studio Cats: Cats on a studio backlot have troubles when rats move in - Feature pitch to Disney from 1989.

Stuff It!:"If you love a stuffed animal very, very much, for a long, long time… it will become a real creature." Or will it? - TV Series pitch to Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network in 2001.

Super Pet: Kids discover their pet dog can become a super-hero when their minds enter his - Animated series pitch to Warner Bros in 1997 and Cartoon Network in 2004.

Tab's True Tales: A place where tabloid stories are true - Animated series pitch to Cartoon Network 2003.

Tarzan: A new look at a classic character - TV Series pitch to Hanna-Barbera from 1988.

Terribulls: The world of rodeos as seen through the eyes of the bulls - Animated series pitch to Cartoon Network 2003.

Tom Thumb: The classic character re-imagined as a buddy comedy, then an as an American icon - Animated feature pitches for Disney Features 1987.

Toy Time: A live action toy talks about the latest games, movies, music and more - Series pitch for Nickelodeon and Disney Channel 1999.

TV Prevue: Mini-series that satirizes prime time television - Animated series pitch for Film Roman 1988.

Whoopi Goldberg: Whoopi is a millionaire secretly helping folks.- Animated series pitch to Hanna-Barbera 1987.

Wild in the City: A coyote (Patch) and possum (Ratty) give up life in the wild to life in the city.- Animated series pitch to Cartoon Network 2003.

Yogi Bear's War of the Wolves - Cable feature film pitch to Cartoon Network in 2001.

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